India's Q4 GDP Data, US Fed Meeting Minutes, The Leela IPO — The Week Ahead

The week starting May 26 will be bustling with significant domestic and international developments. Key macroeconomic, trade, and Economic data from the US and Asia will provide insights into the impact of recent tariffs and economic policies.

The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex experienced declines of 0.67% and 0.74%, respectively, in the week ending May 23. Despite this, both indices ended the day 1% higher, with Eternal and HDFC Life Insurance emerging as top gainers in Nifty.

The Nifty Midcap 150 rose by 0.5%, led by BSE and Max Financial Services, while the Nifty Smallcap 250 jumped 0.5%, driven by Honasa Consumer and IFCI.

Nifty FMCG was the top sectoral gainer, led by Varun Beverages and ITC. All sectoral indices ended higher except Nifty Pharma, which fell for the second consecutive day. Nifty Media continued its upward trend for the third day in a row.

India's Q4 GDP data, set to be released on May 30, will be crucial in determining whether the economy is gaining momentum or plateauing.

Key data points to watch include GDP figures from India and the US, US Federal Reserve meeting minutes, and US inflation data. Additionally, three mainboard IPOs and three SME IPOs will be launched.

The week will feature important data releases from the US, including GDP, core PCE, durable goods orders, consumer confidence, home prices, personal income and spending, and Canada GDP.

The minutes from the May 6-7 US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be closely analysed for insights into the Fed's stance on interest rates.

US GDP, goods trade, and PCE inflation data will help assess the timing of potential rate cuts amid tariff uncertainty. The impact on mainland China will be evaluated through the NBS PMI.

Focus will also be on Nvidia's quarterly results on Wednesday, given its significant influence on benchmark equity indexes.

German inflation data, expected to be released on Friday, will be monitored, with market expectations for inflation to fall to 2% from 2.2% in April and core prices to drop to 2.7% from 3.1%.

The European Commission will release its monthly business sentiment index on Tuesday.

Several corporate actions are scheduled for the coming days. On May 26, Archean Chemical Industries Ltd will issue a final dividend of Rs. 3, Black Rose Industries Ltd will issue a dividend of Rs. 0.50, Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd will issue a final dividend of Rs. 1, Maple Infrastructure Trust will distribute income (InvIT), and Pearl Global Industries Ltd will issue an interim dividend of Rs. 6.5.

On May 27, 2025, Man Infraconstruction Ltd will issue an interim dividend of Rs. 0.45, Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust will distribute income (InvIT), Infobeans Technologies Ltd will conduct a buyback of shares, L&T Finance Ltd will issue a final dividend of Rs. 2.75, and Trident Ltd will issue an interim dividend of Rs. 0.50.

The IPO market is set to gain momentum with two major offerings from Schloss Bangalore Ltd. (Leela Hotels Ltd.) and Aegis Vopak Terminals Ltd. in the upcoming week. In total, three mainboard IPOs and three SME IPOs will be launched. Prostarm Info Systems Ltd. is another mainboard IPO scheduled for this week.

The upcoming SME IPOs include Blue Water Logistics Ltd., Nikita Papers Ltd., Neptune Petrochemicals Ltd., and Astonea Labs Ltd. Currently active SME IPOs include Unified Data-Tech Ltd. and Dar Credit and Capital Ltd.